TALLAHASSEE, Fla., – The 24th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team will travel to The Sunshine State for the second time this season where they will take on No. 15 Florida State on Sunday at noon CT.
Matt Roberts‘ Bulldogs are off to an 8-1 start and enter the match riding a three-match winning streak, including a doubleheader sweep of Presbyterian and Jackson State their last time out this past Sunday.
MSU freshman Petar Jovanovic is 9-0 in singles play this spring and is currently on a 12-match winning streak that dates back to the fall. The winning streak is the longest by a Bulldog since Nuno Borges reeled off 31 consecutive victories in 2019.
Carles Hernandez earned his first career ITA singles ranking this week. Hernandez debuted at No. 84 sporting a 13-3 overall singles record with three victories over ranked opponents.
Nemanja Malesevic is coming off a strong performance last weekend in which he went 4-0 in singles and doubles and either clinched the doubles point or the match for the Bulldogs. Three of Malesevic’s victories came against ranked opponents.
Malesevic defeated Presbyterian’s then 63rd-ranked Dusan Milanovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 and also earned a win over then No. 87 Fynn Kuenkler of Tulane 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-0. With Hernandez’s help in doubles, the duo downed Milanovic and Max Benson, who were ranked 22nd at the time, 6-1.
Hernandez and Malesevic climbed 24 spots in the ITA doubles rankings to No. 18 and are 9-3 on the year with three ranked wins to their credit.
They aren’t the only doubles tandem from State making noise. Jovanovic and Gregor Ramskogler picked up two doubles wins last Sunday. Ramskogler now has 58 career dual match doubles wins, which is the second most in MSU history, only trailing Niclas Braun (2015-19) by two.
MSU currently holds a 10-8 overall series record over Florida State but have dropped the past two meetings. The Seminoles claimed a 5-2 victory in Starkville last spring and also won 5-2 in Tallahassee in 2020.
FSU is 6-2 on the year and coming off a 5-2 home win against South Alabama on Friday. The Seminoles feature the nation’s No. 3 singles competitor in Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc as well as 38th-ranked Youcef Rihane and 71st-ranked Jamie Connel.
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